Stocks Rise After Cooler-Than-Expected July Jobs Data

Stocks Rise After Cooler-Than-Expected July Jobs Data

Fri, August 7, 2026 at 7:43 PM GMT+3 1 min read

• CME +0.51%
• CL=F +1.37%

U.S. stocks rose and Treasury yields fell Friday after the July jobs report came in much cooler than expected, with the U.S. economy losing 23,000 jobs last month.

That was a big miss: Economists had penciled in 83,000 jobs to have been added. Also, revisions to May and June payrolls numbers showed that the economy added 103,000 fewer jobs in those two months. The July unemployment rate ticked lower to 4.1%.

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The release prompted traders to scale back their rate-hike expectations. Investors now see a 43% chance the Federal Reserve hikes in September, down from 55% before the report's release, according CME Group data.

U.S. stock indexes are headed for their biggest weekly gains in months. Meanwhile, oil prices are edging higher, with Brent crude futures around $83.75 a barrel, as investors await updates from the Iran-Oman talks on managing traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.

Write to Caitlin McCabe at caitlin.mccabe@wsj.com

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